I've made reference to this both here and at other sites such as the Escapist but it occurs to me that it would be easier to write such stuff down.
So, why am I quitting? Well, there are many reasons but it boils down to three main ones.
1) My collection and the number of unfinished games in that collection.
As you can see by my games list, I have a lot of games. I've been collecting since the Intellivision II and, over time, my collection has grown to be a sizable one. The problem is that, while I'm collecting, I'm not playing them all the way through. I would estimate that I've beaten 20-30 percent of my games. This is not because I don't want to. In fact, a while back, I started a "loop" (Started in the Rs for reasons that are unimportant to this blog)where I start going through and actually beating my games. However, besides other RL activities (Sidenote: Largely, on a whim, I decided to hike the Pikes Peak Incline last weekend. I made it all the way which is better than, at least, 4 people that day but it's a lot tougher than it looks.), keeping up with new games cuts into the time to actually complete the old games. Then those new games don't get finished, vicious cycle, etc.
To give an idea of how ridiculous this is:
I own: Final Fantasy 1, 2, Mystic Quest,4-10, 12, 13, Dissidia, Duodecim, Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerebrus.
I've beaten 1, Mystic Quest, 4, Dissidia
I've often said that I could go an entire console generation without buying a single new game and still have new experiences. As this generation closes out, I'm going to find out if that theory is true or not. At the very least, playing only the games that I already own will give me more time which leads to:
2) Opportunity Cost
Playing games costs time and money. Both of which could be put to other things. As an example, I want to relearn German. Maybe I'll start traveling again. Money-wise, I could speed up my retirement. I dunno. I figure that I'll make up the future as I go along, same as everyone else.
These feeling may be exacerbated by my age. Being old enough to be able to talk about the Reagan Administration with both clarity and firsthand experience (Technically, I also have first-hand experience with the Ford and Carter administration but I was kinda young to talk with any clarity), I am past the mid-point of what my expected life span is. I'm not sure that I want to fill my remaining years with new iterations of Space Marine Bloodbath. It doesn't inspire anyone when old men on their deathbed talk about how they spent years sitting in front of the TV. My age also figures into:
3) Disillusionment with the entire industry.
A little of this is with gamers. I remarked a few years ago that I could understand where CJayC was coming from when he said he was no longer able to identify with gamers. Due to the fact that I belong to what seems to be a decreasing percentile everytime Gamefaqs runs a "How old are you?" poll, I understand that most of it is an age gap. But some of it is not. The increased fanboyism. The inability to rationally assess gaming's importance as compared to the rest of the world. The increased willingness to sign away one's consumer rights.
However, most of my ire is directed at the industry itself. I am SO SICK of supporting an industry that feels it necessary to wage war on the very cash cow that pays for it's existence. Draconian DRM schemes. The shift away from physical media and customer ownership. The vilification of the used market. DLC milking schemes. (As I was beating Ghost Ship on Rogue Galaxy, I couldn't help but think that this is the type of "extra" that the current generation has you pay for.)
The list goes on but it basicly comes down to that the gaming industry is one that I don't want to support anymore. Perhaps, if the 83 crash repeated itself, both gamers and the industry would get a renewed appreciation for each other. However, that isn't going to happen and I'm tired of the industry becoming increasingly anti-consumer. If the industry wants to wage war on it's customers, then it can do with one less target.